A firmware update is being prepared for release in the next few hours for the PlayStation 3, the official blog reports, and is set to bring several interesting changes to the console. There are a few small updates that might go unnoticed, like being able to send larger messages to friends and better sorting for the friends list, as well as one larger one: text chat.

The update will allow for players to join up to three chat rooms both in and out of game, each supporting 16 users. This might sound a little silly at first, but in reality it's quite practical. Chat rooms are much more efficient than sending private messages between large groups, and forcing that many gamers into one audio chat room would be deafening. It still isn't incentive to purchase the awful looking chat-pad, but it's a forward thinking idea, and should help support clans and guilds for their online games. Hell, if MAG ever comes out, it sure as hell will need something like this.

The video above shows off the chat in, erm, video form, to give you a better look at exactly how it will work once the update goes live.

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